Page 114 - economic report 2021

of steep decline. As for the factors limiting business activity, increased operating costs became
the main obstacle – 7 of every 10 establishments quoted this – followed by the shortage of
qualified workers – a problem that has been on the up and concerns almost 6 of every 10 hotels.

Catalonia is st ll the main source of As for the distribution of clients per country
visitors, with 44% of travellers in the of origin, Catalans are still the main clients,
second half of 2021. representing 44% of the total in the second
half of 2021, followed by clients from the rest
of Spain, representing 23%. For their part,
French travellers went to third place in the ranks, with 22% of total clients, ahead of clients from
other more distant destinations, which represented 11% of the total.

In relation to the first half of 2022, the hotel sector’s predictions for the trend in business activity
and the average level of occupancy are fairly optimistic and suggest a continued reactivation of
tourism, which will continue to receive an impetus from its traditional markets, Spain and France.

As for legislation, on 9 June 2022 the General Council passed Law 19/2022 regulating the
tax on stays in tourist accommodation. This tax is charged on stays, by day or parts thereof,
overnight or not, made by taxpayers at any tourist accommodation regulated by current tourist
accommodation legislation, for an amount of between 1 and 3 euros per day and person, based
on the type of tourist accommodation, except campervan sites. Revenue from the tax is destined
for the Tourism Promotion Fund, with goals that include promoting tourism in the Principality of
Andorra, protecting and improving tourism resources and developing infrastructure and services
related to tourism. The new tax will come into force on 1 July 2022.

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4. Transport and communications

This sector is divided into two branches of activity. The first is transport and storage, representing
1.8% of Andorran GVA (2020), and the second is information and communications, with 3.8%
of GVA (also in 2020). In terms of employment, the transport sector (including overland and air
transport and related activities, including travel agencies) represents 2.3% of total employees, with
858 people, and the sector of telecommunications and mail only 0.8%, with 306 people (2021 data).
The Andorran economy: developments in the main sectors | XII. Services
Employment in the sector of transport and communications as a whole fell for the second
consecutive year after reaching the highest figure in the historical series in 2019. In 2021, there
were 1,164 employees in this sector, 8.5%
fewer than in 2020, when the decline was 4.2%. The number of employees in
The 2021 decline can be explained, on the one the sector of transport and
hand, by the branch of transport, which saw a
reduction of 10.9%, greatly affected by falling communicat ons fell 8.5% in 2021.
tourism and, on the other hand, by the branch
of telecommunications and mail, which saw a decline of only 1.1%. In the latter sectoral branch, this
is the fourth consecutive year in which the number of workers fell.

The rapid recovery in the sector of overland transport and the shortage of staff have pushed the
average wage up in this branch (5.4%), while the average wage shrank in the other activities in the
sector of transport and telecommunications, the opposite of what happened in 2020.

In 2021, the number of establishments in the sector of transport and storage remained practically
stable at 256. In contrast, the number of establishments dedicated to information and communications
increased from 533 in 2020 to 712 in 2021. These 179 new establishments are basically engaged in